INSTRUCTIONS AND PROPHECIES OF THE Blessed MOTHER ALIPIA GOLOSEEVSKY, Kyiv...
Black elderberry is one of the most common wild plants in Ukraine and central Russia. It has a rich, valuable composition, while a paradoxical situation has developed in relation to it. Medicinal properties and contraindications of black elder have been studied and formulated insufficiently.
The local population considers the plant poisonous, which is why the crop plantings are systematically destroyed. An erroneous judgment leads to a decrease in the population of culture in places where people live: near settlements and dacha cooperatives.
Features of black elderberry
The shrub plant is included in a large group of elderberry crops, including compact trees and herbs. Previously, elderberry herbaceous, black, variegated belonged to the selected group of Elderberries of the Honeysuckle family. In recent years, the scientific classification of crops has changed. Black, herbaceous and red elderberry, along with about twenty other similar plants, are assigned to the Adox family of flowering plants.
Cultures have pronounced external differences. Elder racemosa (or red) is a shrub that bears fruit with bright red fruits. Popularly recognized as a medicinal plant. Herbaceous is a perennial grass growing up to one meter. Elderberry variegated is a herbaceous shrub with bright green leaves and white veins.
Description
Black elderberry. Botanical illustration from Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, 1887.
The black elderberry is a small tree or shrub, reaching a height of no more than seven meters, but more often grows up to two or three meters. It has a neat rounded crown, formed by large elongated leaves. Their surface is dark green, the reverse side may look lighter. The bark is ash-brown in color, on old trees it is covered with deep cracks.
The flowering period begins in May and lasts for two months. At this time, the shrub is covered with numerous inflorescences in the form of flat tassels collected from small rounded flowers. They are beige or yellowish in color, hang down under their own weight and smell of a rich sweetish aroma.
From August to September, instead of flowers, fruits appear - three-stone berries. As they mature, they acquire a purple-black hue, become juicy, grow up to ten millimeters in diameter.
Geography and distribution
The plant has attractive decorative qualities, so it is often planted in gardens and parks. It is unpretentious, grows almost everywhere, including in conditions of lack of sunlight. In its natural environment, it grows in the lower tier of the forest, content with poor lighting penetrating through the crowns of large trees. But with access to the sun, it grows more magnificently, actively, grows to a maximum height.
The largest population of black elderberry is represented in Ukraine. In Russia, it grows in the middle and southern strip, often found in the Caucasus, in the Crimea. Its favorite habitat is broad-leaved forests near natural water bodies. She is tolerant of shrubs, and she forms them herself.
You can find out where the black elderberry grows by carefully familiarizing yourself with the vegetation of forest parks and wooded areas, especially on the banks of rivers, in old parks. As an ornamental and unpretentious plant, it is planted in gardens and cemeteries.
Collection and preparation
The beneficial properties of black elderberry have not been studied enough, therefore, in the choice of raw materials, not everything is clear. The flowers of the plant and its fruits have indisputable benefits. They are recognized by official medicine as medicinal raw materials with a certain effect on the body. People also use other parts of the plant.
- Flowers. The collection is carried out during the period of mass flowering of the culture. Elder flowers are harvested as a whole, cutting off the entire brush with scissors, secateurs. Dry in well-ventilated areas at moderate temperature. The slower the drying process, the higher quality raw materials are obtained in the end. As the flowers dry, the elderberry loses a lot of volume. At the exit, no more than twenty percent of their original mass remains. That is why herbalists consider them especially valuable medicinal raw materials, preferring to use them in the treatment of colds in children.
- Fruit. Fully ripe, deep purple black elderberries are harvested. They require different drying conditions. It is optimal to use ovens with a set temperature of up to sixty-five degrees Celsius. Elderberry berries lose even more volume than flowers. Only fifteen percent of the original volume remains at the exit. However, during the harvesting process, the liquid from the tissues does not completely evaporate. This limits the shelf life of medicinal raw materials. It should be used within six months, and during storage it is necessary to regularly stir up the fruits placed in breathable fabric bags to prevent mold.
- Leaves. Not used in official medicine. Harvesting is carried out simultaneously with the flowers. Torn leaves are laid on paper, placed in the open sun. Lightly dried, they are removed in the shade, where they are dried to the desired state. The output is about twenty-five percent of the raw material.
- Bark and roots. Medicinal raw materials with unconfirmed effectiveness by science. It is rarely collected, as it is not used in common treatment practices. In addition, regular harvesting worsens the condition of the plant population. The bark is harvested in the spring, the roots - in September, after the fruit has been harvested. Raw materials are crushed, dried in an oven, in a hot room or in the open sun.
The collection of flowers of black elderberry and its fruits does not have a negative impact on the state of the crop plantings. But the harvesting of bark and roots, regularly carried out in one area, can lead to the death of shrubs. To preserve the population, it is important to harvest the root and bark from one plant no more than once every three years.
Composition and properties
The medicinal properties of black elderberry are determined by the type of raw material. The composition of all plant organs is very different, as well as the effect on the body.
- flowers. Contain up to 0.03 percent of essential oils, rutin and mucus. The latter has an enveloping effect, covering the mucous membranes of the respiratory and digestive organs. The flowers also contain tannins, which have an astringent effect in the intestines. The presence of sambunigrin glycoside is a controversial point in the use of raw materials in therapeutic practice. In the body, it breaks down into hydrocyanic acid and glucose, so there is an opinion about the toxicity of raw materials. However, practical confirmation of the danger or, conversely, the safety of flowers has not been received so far.
- Leaves. Contain a range of glycosides, including sambunigrin, and alkaloids. The composition contains toxic sanguinar and coniine, the latter belongs to the list of strong poisons with a neuroparalytic effect. But in small doses, it demonstrates an anti-inflammatory effect, which allows the use of medicinal preparations from the leaves in the form of external lotions for skin treatment.
- Fruit. Attractive vitamin composition. Along with sugars and organic acids, they contain up to fifteen milligrams of ascorbic acid per hundred grams of the product, there are carotene and rutin. The latter substance has vitamin activity, affects the tone of capillaries, reducing their fragility, and increases the elasticity of erythrocytes. In a complex action, rutin preparations have hemostatic, anti-inflammatory activity. The fruits also contain tannins.
- Roots and bark. The former are rich in saponins - substances with a diuretic, expectorant, and bitter effect. The bark is saturated with choline, an indispensable substance involved in fat metabolism in tissues. Also found in it are pectins and tannins, which have astringent and anti-inflammatory activity.
Depending on the disease, various organs of the plant are used in therapy. Medicinal properties remain maximum with a slight heat treatment of raw materials. This is especially true for fruits, so elderberry jam is more of a dietary product than a medicinal product, since the vitamin complex is completely destroyed during cooking.
The use of elderberry
In official medicine, flowers and fruits of a medicinal plant are used. All parts of the culture are used in the folk. The healing properties of black elderberry flowers, leaves, and bark are known.
The following types of effects of medicinal raw materials are manifested.
- Diuretic. All organs of elderberry have it, so infusions are used in the treatment of a range of diseases associated with impaired urine production and to stimulate its discharge.
- Anti-inflammatory, diaphoretic. In the treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases, flowers, leaves and bark are used. Fruits have a tonic effect, strengthen the immune system.
- Laxative. Black elderberry syrup from fruits is a well-known folk remedy for constipation. Used in small doses. A similar effect, but in a much larger dose, is demonstrated by the roots and bark. Rarely used as a laxative.
- Painkiller. The action is typical for flowers, so their use in the treatment of colds and associated infectious, inflammatory processes of the upper respiratory tract is justified.
A diverse effect on the body allows the use of medicinal raw materials for the treatment of a number of diseases: with inflammation of the respiratory system, the genitourinary system and kidneys, with neuralgia, in gynecological practice, for the treatment of chronic constipation.
Infusion of flowers to drink
The composition has an anti-inflammatory and enveloping effect. It can be used from the first days of a cold or viral illness with fever and general malaise. It will help in the treatment of bronchitis, tonsillitis and other diseases of the upper respiratory tract, complicated by difficult sputum discharge.
Cooking
- Pour the flowers into a thermos. Use two tablespoons.
- Leave to brew for forty minutes.
Drink a medicinal infusion should be during the day. Drink it in small sips as often as possible and stick to bed rest so that the disease quickly subsides.
The same infusion is used as a diuretic in the treatment of diseases of the kidneys, bladder. It can be used by patients with renal insufficiency. The resulting volume of medicinal infusion should be used within two days. Drink it warm in half a glass before meals three times a day.
Infusion of flowers for external treatments
A medicinal infusion of flowers is used externally in gynecological practice. It has an anti-inflammatory effect, is used for vaginal treatments for colpitis, vaginitis.
Cooking
- Put the flowers in a jar. Use four tablespoons.
- Pour boiling water with a volume of five hundred milliliters.
- Leave to brew for twenty minutes.
- Strain.
Use infusion for douching and baths. Before the onset of menstruation, the course should be interrupted for two days. You can continue treatment after menstruation after two to three days.
Laxative infusion of fruits
The use of black elderberry as a laxative will help with chronic constipation. You can prepare the remedy with water or with the addition of honey.
Cooking
- Pour the dried berries into a container. Use three tablespoons.
- Pour boiling water with a volume of two hundred milliliters.
- Cover with a lid, leave to brew for twelve hours.
- Add honey before drinking.
Take a glass in the morning, on an empty stomach. Medicinal infusion stimulates bowel movements and supports immunity.
Leaf poultices
The leaves of the plant have an anti-inflammatory effect, stimulate the healing of wounds of various origins, clean and complicated by a bacterial infection.
Cooking
- Chop dried leaves. Use 3 tablespoons of raw materials.
- Pour in two hundred milliliters of milk.
- Simmer over low heat for ten minutes.
- Cool down.
Lay the boiled leaves on gauze and apply the resulting compress to the affected areas of the skin. The remedy is effective for various injuries, including cuts and burns, boils, and diaper rash of the skin. It will help relieve swelling and pain in hemorrhoids with protruding nodes.
Bark infusion for edema
According to Vladimir Makhlayuk, the author of a collection of medicinal plants and their use in folk medicine, it is black elderberry bark that has a pronounced anti-edematous activity in various kidney diseases. In this case, the drug acts selectively, without affecting the activity of the heart and without affecting the level of blood pressure.
Cooking
- Grind the bark into a powder, use a full teaspoon.
- Pour boiling water with a volume of four hundred milliliters.
- Leave to brew for three hours.
- Strain.
Take the infusion should be up to four times a day for half a glass. It relieves edema well, including those associated with insufficient kidney activity and those caused by cardiac disorders.
The medicinal properties of black elderberry are recognized by official medicine. The flowers and fruits of the plant are used to maintain immunity in colds, as an expectorant in diseases of the upper respiratory tract. In folk medicine, other parts of the plant are also in demand: bark, roots, leaves. They are used in inflammatory processes in the kidneys as a diuretic, and the leaves stimulate the healing of wounds and burns.
Everyone remembers, probably, the saying about "the elderberry in the garden, and the uncle in Kyiv."
So let's talk about this interesting shrub today.
Black elderberry is still revered by some nations as a sacred plant.
On the basis of its fruits, healers and herbalists prepared infusions and decoctions that healed people from many diseases and ailments.
Today, the healing power and benefits that black elderberries give are a little forgotten.
Let's correct this injustice and remember all the beneficial properties of the berries of the tree of fate, as elderberry was called in ancient times. :-)
From this article you will learn:
Black elderberries - useful properties and recipes
Botanical description
Elderberry grows mainly in the southern regions, in particular along the banks of reservoirs, in forest park areas, near houses.
Most often, it is a branched shrub, the height of which rarely exceeds 3-4 m.
During flowering, multiple milky inflorescences emit an intense intoxicating aroma.
In modern landscape design, it is cultivated as a valuable ornamental plant.
For medicinal purposes, it is customary to use inflorescences, leaves, bark, fruits and roots.
But, when to collect raw materials to get the maximum benefit?
The most useful and delicious berries from the bush are harvested in August-September.
Flowers are harvested during the peak of flowering, bark - in the spring, when sap flow begins inside the trunk.
The chemical composition of elderberries
The plant has a rich chemical composition.
The berries contain such complex substances as the rutin-like glycoside aldrin, the glycoside sambunigrin, sugars, paraffin-like components, and mucus.
In addition, there are organic acids, such as chlorogenic, malic, valeric, coffee; choline, tannins, isoamylamines, carotene, ethylisobutyl.
Phytosterol, choline, and essential oils were found in the bark.
Fresh and dried leaves are no less rich, in which provitamin A, glycolic and hexene aldehydes are formed, traces of alkaloids, resins and tannins are found.
Healing properties of elderberry
In folk medicine, both fresh and dry raw materials are used, which do not lose their basic properties.
The beneficial effect is revealed as follows:
- prevention of the development of peptic ulcer;
- treatment of liver damage and hepatitis;
- therapy of disorders of the nervous system, neuralgic, neurotic processes;
- prophylactic against the formation of malignant tumors;
- diaphoretic, antipyretic action;
- antibacterial, anti-inflammatory activity;
- adjuvant for the treatment of a full range of colds;
- mitigation of the course of diseases such as rheumatism, arthritis, gout;
- astringent, diuretic, sedative effect;
- cosmetic effect - elimination of acne and other rashes, skin toning;
- stabilization of metabolic processes. Regular use of decoctions and infusions leads to an improvement in blood composition and an improvement in overall well-being;
- improvement of bile excretion;
- laxative effect, which is especially important for those patients who suffer from chronic constipation.
The beneficial effects of the plant on the human body and all the beneficial properties are recognized even by official medicine.
Parts of the shrub are part of the pharmacy medicinal collections, extracts and extracts of the plant have been successfully used in the pharmacological industry.
Ways to use black elderberry
Berries of black elderberry are often used in winemaking and cooking.
Squeezed juice becomes the basis of syrups and mousses, jams and jams, ports and wines.
The flowers are added to herbal drinks, teas and baked goods. The most useful juice can be obtained only from ripe berries, the rest of the raw materials are ineffective.
To prepare a medicinal infusion, about 30 grams of dried berries or flowers are poured with boiling water (250 ml), insisted for no more than half an hour and used as directed. This remedy is effective for colds, bronchitis, toothache, headache. A similar infusion can be used for.
It is very useful to apply dry heat based on elder flowers, placed in linen bags, which are applied to the affected parts of the body in rheumatism and gout.
The healing properties of such compresses will facilitate the course of the disease and relieve acute symptoms.
What can be prepared blanks from elderberry?
It is customary to make jam and jelly from freshly picked ripe berries.
Sugar never acts as a sweet base for such preparations; it is much more useful and efficient to use molasses or honey.
In addition, jelly can be prepared on the basis of plant juice, which is also added to homemade fruit and berry wines.
Jam, jams and elderberry jam should be eaten by those who suffer from chronic constipation.
A tasty and healthy remedy will normalize the activity of the digestive tract.
Both blanks are prepared in the standard way, by boiling and rolling into jars.
The finished dish is stored in the refrigerator until the next elderberry harvest.
Black elderberry honey according to an old recipe
If fresh black elderberry flowers are tightly packed in a three-liter jar and poured with honey in equal proportions.
The remedy is infused for two and applied in a teaspoon to prevent colds.
Elderberry preparations
On the basis of black elderberries, medicines are prepared against colds and to increase immunity.
I can recommend this one firm, which offers medicines based on black elderberry extract for children and adults in the form of syrups and capsules.
Video about the beneficial properties of elderberries
Be sure to watch this video and you will learn even more about the beneficial properties of elderberry.
Contraindications and precautions
The fruits of red elderberry are considered extremely dangerous - they can not be eaten by animals or people. Even a simple touch to the berries is an occasion to wash your hands immediately.
If contact with mucous membranes occurs, you should immediately consult a doctor.
Any products and dishes based on black elderberry should not be used for the treatment of colitis, diabetes, pregnancy and lactation.
A woman should not go for experiments, as this can be dangerous both for herself and for the fetus.
Nursing mothers are generally contraindicated in taking any biologically active agents, except for those that may be prescribed by the attending physician.
For people who suffer from Crohn's disease, elderberry is strictly contraindicated.
If a person has a predisposition to develop an allergic response and chronic diseases of the digestive tract are diagnosed, caution should be exercised.
IMPORTANT!!!
It must be understood that it is not so easy to distinguish between two types of elderberry.
In order to avoid all risks, it is recommended to use any funds for preventive and therapeutic purposes for persons over the age of 12 years.
Having understood how black elderberry is useful, you can use it as a valuable component of a home phyto-first aid kit.
Means prepared on its basis should be taken taking into account contraindications and after consulting a doctor.
Elderberry is a common plant that is widely used in medicine and pharmaceuticals. However, not everyone knows that not only elderberry, but also its color has healing properties, especially for black elderberry flowers. This article is about the beneficial properties and contraindications of elderberry color.
Composition of elderberry flowers
The inflorescences of this plant have a complex chemical composition. Elderberry flowers are rich in minerals and various beneficial substances. These include:
- Essential oils
- Glycosides
- Carotene
- Malic, caffeic, ascorbic and valeric acids
- resins
- Lentozans
- Tannins
- organic acids
- Isoalomine
Useful properties of elderberry color
The healing qualities of elderberry have been known since ancient times and have been used to treat various diseases since the time of Hippocrates. For example, it was believed that inhaling the aroma of the flowers of this plant relieves headaches and relieves depression. A decoction of them was recommended to young mothers to increase breast milk.
Elderberry flowers are endowed with a number of healing properties, which are due to their widespread use in the field of medicine.
So, for this inflorescence the following pronounced actions are characteristic:
- Anti-inflammatory
- Antipyretic
- diaphoretic
- Diuretic
- expectorant
- Antibacterial
Also, elderberry flowers can give a slight laxative and analgesic effect. In addition, flowers are used to boost immunity, strengthen capillary walls, dilate blood vessels, increase the overall resistance of the body, and also to fight various tumor formations. With the help of this tool, you can improve the composition of the blood, and increase the content of hemoglobin in it.
The color of elderberry has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the digestive system, greatly improving the production of bile and gastric juice.
Elder also helps to normalize the metabolism in the body, as well as cleanse it of toxins and toxins.
Contraindications to the use of elderberry color
Despite the positive qualities and beneficial properties that elder flowers have, in some cases their use is highly discouraged. The use of elderberry and its inflorescences is contraindicated in the following cases;
- With colitis
- With diabetes insipidus.
- For chronic intestinal inflammation
- In chronic diseases of the stomach and digestive system.
- For Crohn's disease
- With a tendency to allergic reactions
- The presence of ulcerative lesions also serves as a contraindication for the use of elderberry.
In some patients, cases of individual tolerance of certain substances that make up this plant have been recorded. It should be emphasized that excessive and prolonged use of elderberry flowers can lead to unwanted side effects such as nausea, vomiting, indigestion and diarrhea.
Indications for use
Elderberry inflorescences have been used in medicine for many centuries, proving their high efficiency in the treatment of a number of diseases of a different nature.
Hippocrates also advised the use of these yellow flowers in cases of "stabbing" in the chest, rheumatism and joint pain.
Modern medicine also recognizes the numerous medicinal properties of the presented plant. Treatment with elderberry flowers is recommended in the following cases:
- Colds, pneumonia, bronchitis. This remedy helps relieve headaches, eliminate fever, alleviate coughs and relieve inflammation of the mucous membranes. In addition, elderberry inflorescences have a strong expectorant effect.
- An infusion of dried flowers is recommended for the acute stage of eczema.
- Edema of a different nature is eliminated due to the diuretic properties of this plant.
- Haemorrhoids.
- Inflammation of the genitourinary system.
- Elderberry flowers can have a sedative and sedative effect. For this reason, drugs based on them are widely used for insomnia, neurosis and neuralgia.
- Atherosclerosis.
- Various inflammatory processes in the body.
- anemia
- External use of elderflower-based products is recommended for the treatment of various skin diseases (furunculosis, psoriasis and others), burns, rashes, ulcerative lesions.
- This tool helps to alleviate the manifestations of menopause in women.
- Mastopathy
- Cataract
- Rheumatism
- pancreatitis
- Elderberry is also shown as an adjuvant in the treatment of oncological diseases.
- Metabolic disorders
- General weakening and exhaustion of the body.
- uterine fibroids
- endometriosis
Elderberry color in folk medicine
Traditional medicine actively uses elderberry inflorescences for the treatment and prevention of various diseases. We bring to your attention the most popular and time-tested recipes.
1. Decoction for the treatment of bronchitis. To prepare it, pour two tablespoons of dried flowers with a liter of water, bring to a boil and boil for five minutes. The decoction should be taken in half a glass four times a day.
2. An anti-edema agent is prepared as follows. A tablespoon of inflorescences is poured with a glass of water and boiled for seven minutes. The decoction should be taken one tablespoon three times a day.
3. In case of rheumatism, neuralgia, muscle or joint inflammation, special poultices will help. To prepare them, stir in an equal amount of elderberry flowers and chamomile, pour boiling water and let it brew for about five minutes. In the resulting infusion, moisten a piece of cloth and apply to the sore spot. Keep the lotion until it cools completely.
4. Tea from elderberry inflorescences is considered a universal remedy that can help in the fight against many diseases, strengthen the body and increase immunity. To prepare this vitamin drink, pour two teaspoons of dried flowers with a glass of boiling water and leave for half an hour. After this time, it remains only to strain the broth and the tea will be ready!
6. Remedy for hemorrhoids. Mix six tablespoons of elderberry color with a spoonful of medicinal sage, pour a glass of boiling water over the mixture. After a day, strain the infusion and add a teaspoon of honey. It is recommended to use twice a day for half a glass at a time. The course of treatment is three weeks.
7. For skin diseases and burns, lotions based on elderberry flowers help well. To prepare an effective medicine, pour three tablespoons of inflorescences with a glass of milk and boil for several minutes. Soak a piece of gauze in the resulting liquid and apply it to the damaged area of \u200b\u200bthe skin.
8. An infusion prepared from twenty grams of elder flowers and a liter of boiling water is indicated for the treatment of dry, cough, arthritis and rheumatism.
9. In case of rheumatic pains, such a remedy will help. Mix chamomile and elder flowers in equal proportions, wrap in a cloth bag, pour boiling water on top and apply to the sore spot. Such a bag will help relieve toothache and ear pain.
The color of elderberry has numerous healing properties and can be used to treat and prevent various diseases. However, before taking this remedy, you should familiarize yourself with its contraindications. Indeed, in some cases, the use of elderberry inflorescences can cause serious damage to health.
Medicinal properties of black elderberry
From ancient times, the attitude towards this plant was ambiguous: people knew about its miraculous properties, considering it a panacea for many ailments, and, nevertheless, destroyed it, considering it poisonous. Official medicine recognizes the therapeutic effect of the use of drugs based on berries and flowers of elderberry, however, it observes extreme caution in this matter.
General information
Black elderberry (Sambucus nigra) - a tree-like shrub, colloquially often referred to as Baz, Buzk, Baznik, Bugilla, Pishchalnik or Sambuk, has been known to people since time immemorial. Separate parts of the plant were used to make medicinal tinctures, decoctions, soft and alcoholic drinks, a dye for cotton and linen fabrics, inks and decorative cosmetics.
Currently, experts distinguish up to 40 species of plants of this genus. Black elder is the most famous and widespread representative of the Adox family, although until recently it was considered a close relative of honeysuckle.
The area of its natural growth includes the territory of the Azores, Algeria, Tunisia, Iran and Turkey, the states of the Caucasus, central and southern Europe, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus. In the southern regions of the European part of Russia and in the Caucasus, its thickets are found on the edges or form an undergrowth in broad-leaved forests. Due to its shade tolerance and relative unpretentiousness, elderberry easily takes root near settlements, in urban wastelands, near roads.
plant description
Deciduous shrub with a wide, spreading crown and lignified branched stems reaches a height of 2 to 7 meters. The thin bark changes color with age: young annual shoots have a bright green color, which eventually becomes grayish brown, with a large number of small yellowish tubercles (lentils). The wood is soft, with a white porous core.
Oppositely located petiolate leaves of complex shape of 5-7 pointed, oval elongated segments reach a length of 25-30 cm. The outer part of the leaf plate is juicy green, while the back side has a paler color.
Fragrant white, whitish-yellow or cream flowers of black elderberry form numerous drooping corymbose inflorescences, reaching 15-25 cm in diameter. Flowering period May - early June.
The fruit is a drupe (2-4 seeds) has a rounded shape up to 0.6-1 cm in diameter, weighing about 1 g. Ripens in the second half of August - September. At the stage of technical ripeness, the skin becomes black-violet or black in color, and the dark red flesh becomes juicy and sour-sweet in taste.
Chemical composition and its features
A unique set of useful substances made it possible to use the plant in folk and traditional medicine. Despite the fact that the characteristics of the climate affect the chemical composition of the plant, the main beneficial substances are preserved regardless of the area of growth. However, their ratio in various organs of the plant is not equal, which determines the selectivity of the use of medicinal raw materials for the treatment of certain diseases.
- essential oil - up to 0.03%;
- routine;
- mucus - which has an enveloping effect on the organs of the digestive and respiratory systems;
- tannins known for their astringent property;
- glycosides - sambunigrin.
Unripe fruits are poisonous, therefore raw materials are used at the stage of technical ripeness. A whole complex of vitamins, minerals and nutrients made it possible to use them as an anti-inflammatory, tonic:
- ascorbic acid (vitamin C) - 15 mg (according to some sources 48-50 mg) per 100 g of raw materials;
- carotene (A) - known for its antioxidant effect;
- rutin (P) - reduces capillary fragility, and in combination with ascorbic acid enhances the hemostatic and anti-inflammatory effect;
- vitamins of group B - B1, B5, B6, B9;
- minerals - selenium (Se), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg);
- organic carboxylic and amino acids;
- tannins;
- polysaccharides.
Official medicine does not use elderberry leaves because of the content of toxic compounds in them: sanguinara and coniine, known for its neuroparalytic effect. However, in therapeutic doses, it has an anti-inflammatory effect, which is why it is mentioned in folk recipes as an external agent for inflammatory skin diseases.
In the bark found:
- choline (vitamin B4) - preserving the cell membrane, participating in fat metabolism and lowering cholesterol levels in the blood, as well as helping to fight depression;
- tannins;
- pectins.
Black elderberry roots contain saponins, known for their anti-inflammatory effects, which are part of antihistamines and increase the absorption rate of drugs.
Medicinal properties of black elderberry
Traditional medicine uses mainly fruits and inflorescences, while herbalists consider all parts of the plant to be healing.
The impact of medicinal preparations based on black elderberry is diverse.
- Various parts of the shrub have a diuretic effect. They are used for congestion in the organs of the genitourinary system, to improve urine output.
- In the treatment of infectious diseases, preparations based on flowers, leaves and bark of the plant are prescribed, as they have anti-inflammatory and diaphoretic effects. To increase the tone and strengthen the immune system, decoctions and syrups from berries are prescribed to patients.
- Black elderberry flowers are known for their pronounced analgesic effect, which has found their use in the treatment of colds, infectious and inflammatory diseases of the upper respiratory tract.
- For the treatment of constipation, small doses of fruit syrup, which is an effective laxative, are used.
- Black elderberry helps to reduce blood sugar levels, normalizes carbohydrate metabolism in cells and organs, thereby contributing to weight loss.
- It is used in the complex treatment of malignant neoplasms.
Herbal preparations are prescribed for the following diseases:
- SARS, acute respiratory infections, influenza;
- tonsillitis, tonsillitis;
- edema;
- violations of the activity of the organs of the female reproductive system;
- a decrease in the severity of symptoms of hormonal changes during menopause and menopause;
- arthritis, arthrosis, rheumatism, gout;
- respiratory diseases;
- pustular infections, acne, furunculosis;
- diseases of the oral cavity - periodontal disease;
- impaired functioning of the kidneys and urinary tract;
- oncology.
Contraindications for use
Before you start taking any medicines based on black elderberry, it is advisable to make sure the quality of the raw materials and the absence of contraindications to their use.
Each individual part of the plant is harvested at a certain time. Berry picking is carried out from late August to mid-September, during their full ripening. However, eating a large amount of even very ripe, but fresh berries can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and in some cases severe poisoning.
Unripe fruits are poisonous and their use, as well as the uncontrolled use of drugs from other parts of the plant, leads to serious side effects in the form of:
- nausea;
- severe vomiting;
- a sharp drop in blood pressure;
- shortness of breath;
- increase in glucose levels;
- changes in blood parameters during general and biochemical studies.
Such drugs are contraindicated in women during pregnancy and lactation, as they can adversely affect the development of the fetus and the health of the newborn. Not recommended for use in children under 12 years of age.
The presence of at least one of the following diagnoses in a patient is a contraindication to the use of drugs based on elderberry:
- inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
- benign neoplasms;
- any chronic disease, including Crohn's disease.
It should be remembered about the individual intolerance of the components of the drug. Before starting treatment, a specialist consultation is necessary.
Procurement and storage of raw materials
Since the concentration of active substances in individual parts of the plant reaches its peak at different time intervals, the collection and preparation of raw materials is carried out taking into account this factor.
Peduncles are harvested during the period of full disclosure of flowers - in the first and second decades of June, in dry, cool weather. The brushes are suspended in the shade, in well-ventilated rooms or in special dryers, with a temperature of 30-35 ° C, after separating the flowers from the pedicels. Dry raw materials are stored in canvas bags, in a dry, cool place for no more than 2 years.
The berries are cut in whole bunches in early September. They are laid out in a thin layer in the fresh air in the shade for several days, after which they are dried in an oven or a special dryer at a temperature of 65 ° C. Dried fruits are separated from the stalks, and stored for six months, avoiding an increase in humidity and direct sunlight on them.
Young leaves of the shrub are torn off in the spring, after they are fully opened. Dry in the fresh air. The shelf life of raw materials should not exceed 1 year.
Flowers, fruits and leaves can be harvested annually, unlike bark and roots, uncontrolled harvesting of which can lead to the destruction of plantings.
The elderberry bark is cut off in early spring, before the sap flow, carefully separating the thin top layer from the core. Dried at a temperature of about 70°C, after which it can be stored for 3 years.
The roots are dug up in October-November, washed, dried and ground into powder, the shelf life of which is 5 years.
What to cook from black elderberries
Fresh, especially in large quantities, these juicy, sour-sweet berries can cause poisoning. However, during heat treatment, they become completely safe, so our ancestors willingly cooked jam from them, made homemade wine, liqueurs, fillings for pies.
Elderberry juice is high in vitamin C, so during flu and cold epidemics, it will be an excellent tool to strengthen the immune system. In the process of preparation, pure berries are passed through a juicer and mixed with sugar in proportions of 1: 1 (1 kg of sugar per 1 kg of berries). They put it on medium heat, let it boil and pour it hot into clean jars or bottles that must be hermetically sealed. Store in a dark, dry and cool place.
Syrup
To prepare the syrup, the fruits must be crushed, add sugar and leave until a thick, viscous juice appears. It is decanted, poured into a clean container and stored in the refrigerator. It is recommended to take it on an empty stomach, 1 tbsp. spoon 3 times a day. After a month of admission, a break is made for 1-2 weeks, after which the treatment is continued.
The syrup improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, strengthens the immune system and helps to restore strength after operations and severe illnesses, fights against diseases of the blood, lymphatic and nervous system, mastopathy.
Traditional medicine recipes
- In the complex therapy of colds, SARS, acute respiratory infections, influenza, a decoction of elder flowers is used as a diaphoretic and to reduce body temperature. 20 g of dry inflorescences are poured into 200 ml of hot water, brought to a boil and left on low heat with constant stirring for another 25 minutes. Before taking, allow to cool slightly, filter through several layers of clean gauze and drink 100 ml, 2 times a day, 10-15 minutes before the main meal. It is permissible to sweeten the drink by adding 1 teaspoon of honey to it.
- An infusion with a choleretic effect is prepared from dried berries and shoots of the plant, taken in equal volumes. They are crushed, poured with 200 ml of water and left to bask in a water bath for 20-30 minutes. After cooling, strain and store in the refrigerator. The infusion is taken warm, 40 ml, every 4 hours.
- A decoction is made from dried elderberry fruits, which has a pronounced laxative effect. 5 g of raw materials are poured into 150 ml of hot water and brought to a boil, after which they are removed from the heat, cooled and allowed to brew for a day in a dark, cool place. The strained remedy is drunk warm once a day, mainly at night.
- Inflamed skin and diseases of the subcutaneous tissue are treated with compresses and poultices from young leaves. They are boiled in milk (50 g per 100-120 ml), cooled slightly, transferred to a clean cotton or linen napkin and applied to the affected area.
- The complex treatment of gout, arthritis and rheumatism is supplemented with a decoction of dried elderberry flowers. They are poured with water at room temperature, brought to a boil and boiled over low heat for about half an hour. Strained broth is diluted to a volume of 250 ml with warm boiled water. Take orally 1/3 - 1/2 cup up to 3 times a day on an empty stomach.
- With rheumatism and urolithiasis, baths with an aqueous extract of leaves and roots are used to reduce pain and improve the general condition of the patient. 20 g of crushed dry raw materials, taken in equal parts, are poured with 1 liter of boiling water, wrapped and allowed to brew for 1.5-2 hours. Strained infusion is added to a bath of water, the temperature of which should not exceed 37-38°C. Treatment is carried out daily at bedtime. The procedure time is 15 minutes, the course of treatment is 10-14 days.
- The bark of the plant is used to relieve swelling. To do this, 1 teaspoon of dry crushed raw materials is poured into 0.4 liters of boiling water and insisted for 3 hours. Strained infusion drink 100 ml, 3-4 times a day.
- To improve the functioning of the organs of the urinary system, a decoction of a mixture of medicinal herbs is used. The flowers of elderberry, St. John's wort and chamomile are mixed in equal parts, poured with a glass of boiling water and heated in a water bath for 15-20 minutes, then cooled, filtered and diluted with boiled water to a volume of 200 ml. Take before bed.
Application in cosmetology
For psoriasis, baldness, allergic and pustular lesions of the skin, it is recommended to take the following infusion orally: 10 g of dry inflorescences are brewed with boiling water in a volume of 200 ml, let it brew for about 1 hour, filter and drink 2 tbsp. spoons up to 6 times a day.
Compresses and alcohol compositions help to whiten the skin, lighten age spots and freckles, reduce the manifestations of hyperpigmentation of the skin. To prepare the lotion, pour 20 g of fresh flowers into 200 ml of boiling water and leave for 2 hours. Bring to a boil over low heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cool, strain, pour in 200 ml of vodka and store in a dark place or in the refrigerator. Moisten the face with this composition at night with a cotton swab.
Poultices and cosmetic masks reduce oiliness of the skin, soften it and tone it up.
Elder
Elderberry is a perennial woody plant from the honeysuckle family. Shrub or small tree, up to 3-10 m tall. The trunk and branches are grey. Leaves opposite, petiolate, pinnate. The flowers are small, fragrant, creamy or yellowish white. Blooms from May to the first half of June. The fruit is black-violet, berry-shaped. Ripens August-September.
In the wild, black elderberry is found between shrubs on the edges of forests in the middle zone of the European part of Russia, in Ukraine, in the Baltic states and Belarus, in the Crimea, in the Caucasus, in southeast Russia.
Elderberry grows in both sunny and shady places. Reproduction is carried out by dividing old bushes, layering and sowing seeds.
The black elderberry is a medicinal plant, unlike the red elderberry, which is quite poisonous.
Medicinal raw materials are inflorescences, fruits dried in stoves or dryers. The bark, branches and roots of the plant are rarely used. The collection of elder flowers and their storage require special care, because. they are very sensitive to moisture, quickly change their color and deteriorate. Flowers are harvested from late May to early July. Good quality dried flowers are obtained if they are collected in sunny weather, at 2 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon, but not after rain. Freshly blossomed, perhaps shorter cut brushes of flowers, freed from leaves and thick petioles, are laid out in a thin layer and quickly dried either in the air in the shade or artificially, but the temperature should not exceed 30-35 ° C. To obtain dry raw materials without petioles, dry brushes are lightly rubbed through a sieve, but not a metal one. Elderberries are also dried.
Dried elderberry flowers are stored in a dry, well-ventilated area. Shelf life is not more than 2-3 years. The shelf life of dried berries is 6 months.
Elderberry calories
It is only 73 kcal, so it will not cause excess weight. You can safely add it to various dishes.
Nutritional value per 100 grams:
Useful properties of elderberry
Elderberry inflorescences contain a very complex chemical composition. They contain the glycoside sambunigrin, a rutin-like glycoside aldrin; organic acids: valeric, coffee, acetic, malic and chlorogenic; semi-solid essential oil, choline, ethylisobutyl, isoamylamines, carotene, tannins, mucous and paraffin-like substances; Sahara.
Elderberries contain ascorbic acid - vitamin C (up to 50 mg%), carotene, sambucin, resin, glucose (up to 2.8%), fructose (up to 2.5%), free acids (mainly malic); amino acids, tyrosine, dyes.
Fresh elderberry leaves contain a large amount of ascorbic acid - vitamin C (up to 280 mg%), a lot of carotene (up to 0.15%); and dried leaves contain provitamin A1. The leaves also found sambunigrin, essential oil, hexene and glycol aldehydes, traces of alkaloids, tannins, resinous substances (with a laxative effect).
The bark contains essential oil, choline, phytosterol.
Previously, the villagers at the onset of spring tore off the tops of the young shoots of elderberry and, along with other herbs, were eaten as a salad. It must be borne in mind, however, that elderberry leaves are very weak and drive urine.
From the juice of the berries, after their fermentation, they drove vodka. Elder flowers added to white grape wine and vinegar give them a nutmeg flavor. Berry juice was used to color alcoholic beverages.
Elderberries used to be widely used for dyeing cotton and silk fabrics black. At the same time, green vitriol was added to the juice of the berries. Mixed with alum, the juice of the berries gives a blue dye. From the juice of berries, with the addition of a small amount of alum and vinegar, ink was made. Rural beauties blackened their eyebrows with the juice of berries.
From fresh elderberry flowers with the addition of lemon juice, zest and water, a refreshing drink was prepared by fermentation.
There used to be a belief that elderberries quickly kill chickens. We don't know if that's the case. But our ancestors exterminated bedbugs with the juice of berries, that's for sure. Elder flowers are wrapped around apples during their storage; they are better preserved and get a good smell.
In folk medicine, not only fruits are used, but also leaves, flowers, black elderberry bark. Black elderberry fruits have their healing power both fresh and dried. Fresh elderberries are successfully used for the treatment of hepatitis, peptic ulcer and for their prevention. Also, fresh fruits help with neuralgia. Dried fruits are used to treat such a rare disease as malaria. It is believed that the medicinal properties of black elderberry are so high that it can be used as an adjuvant in the fight against stomach cancer and skin cancer. In case of stomach cancer, the patient should be given jam made from the fruits of black elderberry; in case of skin cancer, the juice from the fruits is squeezed out and an extract is prepared in wine.
No less valuable are the flowers of black elderberry, which contain choline essential oils, rutin, valeric, caffeic and malic acids, etc. Decoctions or infusions are prepared from the flowers of black elderberry, which have antibacterial and diaphoretic properties. That is why they are especially good for colds, sore throats, flu, and respiratory diseases. To prepare the infusion, you need to take 1 tbsp. a spoonful of black elderberry flowers and pour a glass of hot water. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. After that, cool, squeeze and use warm in half a glass, 2-3 times a day before meals. This drug helps with arthritis, gout, rheumatism.
Black elderberry leaves are also healing. Like flowers, they are antipyretic, diuretic, astringent, sedative and diaphoretic. Applying steamed leaves relieves inflammation well, which is why they are used for diaper rash, burns, inflammation of hemorrhoids, furunculosis. There is a folk remedy for chronic constipation using young black elderberry leaves. Young leaves have some laxative and restorative effect. For the treatment of chronic constipation, it is necessary to take honey, boil young leaves of black elderberry in it and take it inside.
No less popular in folk medicine is the bark of this plant. A decoction is prepared from it, which is taken for diseases of the skin and kidneys. The decoction is also used for baths for gout, rheumatism and arthritis. Also, the finished broth can be used in the form of lotions.
Folk cosmetology also uses the healing properties of black elderberry. For example, a lotion can be made from its flowers, which is applied to the face every morning and evening. To prepare the lotion, take 10 inflorescences and pour 0.5 liters of boiling water over them. Leave to infuse for a day. After that, it is filtered and stored in the refrigerator. This lotion tones the skin well and makes it younger.
A decoction of the whole plant (root, flowers and leaves) is used as a means of regulating metabolism. Fresh berries and a decoction of flowers are used for rheumatism. Black elderberries can be used to make jam, jelly. Keep in mind that jam and jelly are best prepared without sugar, based on honey or vegetable molasses.
Apples sprinkled with elderberry flowers retain their aroma for a long time. An infusion of dried elderberries (1:10) improves bile secretion, increases diuresis, and promotes the movement of intestinal contents. Tea or an infusion of elder flowers is prescribed for laryngitis, bronchitis, influenza, neuralgia, for rinsing the mouth as an anti-inflammatory agent, as well as for diseases of the kidneys and bladder, rheumatism and gout. In the latter case, it is recommended to make hot wrappings from bags filled with a mixture of equal parts of elderflower and chamomile, doused with boiling water.
Dangerous properties of elderberry
Of particular danger to humans and animals are the fruits of red elderberry. Do not under any circumstances eat them. If you touched the berries with your hands, then after that you must definitely wash them with soap, and in cases of contact with the mucous membrane or cuts (scratches), you should immediately consult a doctor.
Black elderberries can also harm your health. It is not recommended for women during pregnancy, diabetes insipidus, colitis diseases.
For people suffering from Crohn's disease, this berry is strictly contraindicated. In addition, the use of black elderberry can adversely affect the health of people with chronic stomach diseases and in cases of individual intolerance.
Remember that it is not always easy to distinguish a red elderberry from a black one. By the color of the berries, they can be distinguished only during the ripening period, and during periods when twigs and leaves of the plant are used for medicinal purposes, it is very difficult to distinguish them. If you are not 100% sure of your knowledge, it is better not to take risks so that instead of the expected benefits you do not get severe poisoning.
This video describes the beneficial properties of the plant, its varieties, the subtleties of growing, as well as various recipes for using elderberry for treatment.
Useful properties of black elderberry, use in traditional medicine
black elderberry
Shrub plant with valuable flowers, fruits, leaves and bark. It is little used in traditional medicine, despite its wide distribution. Mistakenly considered poisonous. It has a diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, anti-inflammatory effect.
Black elderberry is one of the most common wild plants in Ukraine and central Russia. It has a rich, valuable composition, while a paradoxical situation has developed in relation to it. Medicinal properties and contraindications of black elder have been studied and formulated insufficiently.
The local population considers the plant poisonous, which is why the crop plantings are systematically destroyed. An erroneous judgment leads to a decrease in the population of culture in places where people live: near settlements and dacha cooperatives.
Features of black elderberry
The shrub plant is included in a large group of elderberry crops, including compact trees and herbs. Previously, elderberry herbaceous, black, variegated belonged to the selected group of Elderberries of the Honeysuckle family. In recent years, the scientific classification of crops has changed. Black, herbaceous and red elderberry, along with about twenty other similar plants, are assigned to the Adox family of flowering plants.
Description
Black elderberry. Botanical illustration from Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, 1887.
The black elderberry is a small tree or shrub, reaching a height of no more than seven meters, but more often grows up to two or three meters. It has a neat rounded crown, formed by large elongated leaves. Their surface is dark green, the reverse side may look lighter. The bark is ash-brown in color, on old trees it is covered with deep cracks.
The flowering period begins in May and lasts for two months. At this time, the shrub is covered with numerous inflorescences in the form of flat tassels collected from small rounded flowers. They are beige or yellowish in color, hang down under their own weight and smell of a rich sweetish aroma.
From August to September, instead of flowers, fruits appear - three-stone berries. As they mature, they acquire a purple-black hue, become juicy, grow up to ten millimeters in diameter.
Geography and distribution
The plant has attractive decorative qualities, so it is often planted in gardens and parks. It is unpretentious, grows almost everywhere, including in conditions of lack of sunlight. In its natural environment, it grows in the lower tier of the forest, content with poor lighting penetrating through the crowns of large trees. But with access to the sun, it grows more magnificently, actively, grows to a maximum height.
The largest population of black elderberry is represented in Ukraine. In Russia, it grows in the middle and southern strip, often found in the Caucasus, in the Crimea. Its favorite habitat is broad-leaved forests near natural water bodies. She is tolerant of shrubs, and she forms them herself.
You can find out where the black elderberry grows by carefully familiarizing yourself with the vegetation of forest parks and wooded areas, especially on the banks of rivers, in old parks. As an ornamental and unpretentious plant, it is planted in gardens and cemeteries.
Collection and preparation
The beneficial properties of black elderberry have not been studied enough, therefore, in the choice of raw materials, not everything is clear. The flowers of the plant and its fruits have indisputable benefits. They are recognized by official medicine as medicinal raw materials with a certain effect on the body. People also use other parts of the plant.
- Flowers. The collection is carried out during the period of mass flowering of the culture. Elder flowers are harvested as a whole, cutting off the entire brush with scissors, secateurs. Dry in well-ventilated areas at moderate temperature. The slower the drying process, the higher quality raw materials are obtained in the end. As the flowers dry, the elderberry loses a lot of volume. At the exit, no more than twenty percent of their original mass remains. That is why herbalists consider them especially valuable medicinal raw materials, preferring to use them in the treatment of colds in children.
- Fruit. Fully ripe, deep purple black elderberries are harvested. They require different drying conditions. It is optimal to use ovens with a set temperature of up to sixty-five degrees Celsius. Elderberry berries lose even more volume than flowers. Only fifteen percent of the original volume remains at the exit. However, during the harvesting process, the liquid from the tissues does not completely evaporate. This limits the shelf life of medicinal raw materials. It should be used within six months, and during storage it is necessary to regularly stir up the fruits placed in breathable fabric bags to prevent mold.
- Leaves. Not used in official medicine. Harvesting is carried out simultaneously with the flowers. Torn leaves are laid on paper, placed in the open sun. Lightly dried, they are removed in the shade, where they are dried to the desired state. The output is about twenty-five percent of the raw material.
- Bark and roots. Medicinal raw materials with unconfirmed effectiveness by science. It is rarely collected, as it is not used in common treatment practices. In addition, regular harvesting worsens the condition of the plant population. The bark is harvested in the spring, the roots - in September, after the fruit has been harvested. Raw materials are crushed, dried in an oven, in a hot room or in the open sun.
Composition and properties
The medicinal properties of black elderberry are determined by the type of raw material. The composition of all plant organs is very different, as well as the effect on the body.
- Flowers. Contain up to 0.03 percent of essential oils, rutin and mucus. The latter has an enveloping effect, covering the mucous membranes of the respiratory and digestive organs. The flowers also contain tannins, which have an astringent effect in the intestines. The presence of sambunigrin glycoside is a controversial point in the use of raw materials in therapeutic practice. In the body, it breaks down into hydrocyanic acid and glucose, so there is an opinion about the toxicity of raw materials. However, practical confirmation of the danger or, conversely, the safety of flowers has not been received so far.
- Leaves. Contain a range of glycosides, including sambunigrin, and alkaloids. The composition contains toxic sanguinar and coniine, the latter belongs to the list of strong poisons with a neuroparalytic effect. But in small doses, it demonstrates an anti-inflammatory effect, which allows the use of medicinal preparations from the leaves in the form of external lotions for skin treatment.
- Fruit. Attractive vitamin composition. Along with sugars and organic acids, they contain up to fifteen milligrams of ascorbic acid per hundred grams of the product, there are carotene and rutin. The latter substance has vitamin activity, affects the tone of capillaries, reducing their fragility, and increases the elasticity of erythrocytes. In a complex action, rutin preparations have hemostatic, anti-inflammatory activity. The fruits also contain tannins.
- Roots and bark. The former are rich in saponins - substances with a diuretic, expectorant, and bitter effect. The bark is saturated with choline, an indispensable substance involved in fat metabolism in tissues. Also found in it are pectins and tannins, which have astringent and anti-inflammatory activity.
The use of elderberry
In official medicine, flowers and fruits of a medicinal plant are used. All parts of the culture are used in the folk. The healing properties of black elderberry flowers, leaves, and bark are known.
The following types of effects of medicinal raw materials are manifested.
- Diuretic. All organs of elderberry have it, so infusions are used in the treatment of a range of diseases associated with impaired urine production and to stimulate its discharge.
- Anti-inflammatory, diaphoretic. In the treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases, flowers, leaves and bark are used. Fruits have a tonic effect, strengthen the immune system.
- Laxative. Black elderberry syrup from fruits is a well-known folk remedy for constipation. Used in small doses. A similar effect, but in a much larger dose, is demonstrated by the roots and bark. Rarely used as a laxative.
- Painkiller. The action is typical for flowers, so their use in the treatment of colds and associated infectious, inflammatory processes of the upper respiratory tract is justified.
A diverse effect on the body allows the use of medicinal raw materials for the treatment of a number of diseases: with inflammation of the respiratory system, the genitourinary system and kidneys, with neuralgia, in gynecological practice, for the treatment of chronic constipation.
Infusion of flowers to drink
The composition has an anti-inflammatory and enveloping effect. It can be used from the first days of a cold or viral illness with fever and general malaise. It will help in the treatment of bronchitis, tonsillitis and other diseases of the upper respiratory tract, complicated by difficult sputum discharge.
- Pour the flowers into a thermos. Use two tablespoons.
- Leave to brew for forty minutes.
Drink a medicinal infusion should be during the day. Drink it in small sips as often as possible and stick to bed rest so that the disease quickly subsides.
The same infusion is used as a diuretic in the treatment of diseases of the kidneys, bladder. It can be used by patients with renal insufficiency. The resulting volume of medicinal infusion should be used within two days. Drink it warm in half a glass before meals three times a day.
Infusion of flowers for external treatments
A medicinal infusion of flowers is used externally in gynecological practice. It has an anti-inflammatory effect, is used for vaginal treatments for colpitis, vaginitis.
- Put the flowers in a jar. Use four tablespoons.
- Pour boiling water with a volume of five hundred milliliters.
- Leave to brew for twenty minutes.
- Strain.
Use infusion for douching and baths. Before the onset of menstruation, the course should be interrupted for two days. You can continue treatment after menstruation after two to three days.
Laxative infusion of fruits
The use of black elderberry as a laxative will help with chronic constipation. You can prepare the remedy with water or with the addition of honey.
- Pour the dried berries into a container. Use three tablespoons.
- Pour boiling water with a volume of two hundred milliliters.
- Cover with a lid, leave to brew for twelve hours.
- Add honey before drinking.
Take a glass in the morning, on an empty stomach. Medicinal infusion stimulates bowel movements and supports immunity.
Leaf poultices
The leaves of the plant have an anti-inflammatory effect, stimulate the healing of wounds of various origins, clean and complicated by a bacterial infection.
- Chop dried leaves. Use 3 tablespoons of raw materials.
- Pour in two hundred milliliters of milk.
- Simmer over low heat for ten minutes.
- Cool down.
Lay the boiled leaves on gauze and apply the resulting compress to the affected areas of the skin. The remedy is effective for various injuries, including cuts and burns, boils, and diaper rash of the skin. It will help relieve swelling and pain in hemorrhoids with protruding nodes.
Bark infusion for edema
According to Vladimir Makhlayuk, the author of a collection of medicinal plants and their use in folk medicine, it is black elderberry bark that has a pronounced anti-edematous activity in various kidney diseases. In this case, the drug acts selectively, without affecting the activity of the heart and without affecting the level of blood pressure.
- Grind the bark into a powder, use a full teaspoon.
- Pour boiling water with a volume of four hundred milliliters.
- Leave to brew for three hours.
- Strain.
Take the infusion should be up to four times a day for half a glass. It relieves edema well, including those associated with insufficient kidney activity and those caused by cardiac disorders.
The medicinal properties of black elderberry are recognized by official medicine. The flowers and fruits of the plant are used to maintain immunity in colds, as an expectorant in diseases of the upper respiratory tract. In folk medicine, other parts of the plant are also in demand: bark, roots, leaves. They are used in inflammatory processes in the kidneys as a diuretic, and the leaves stimulate the healing of wounds and burns.
Black elderberry flowers about all medicinal properties
An attractive plant that can be found in the forests and gardens of Europe, the hero of numerous legends and songs - elderberry. Ancient healers knew that this is a help for many ailments. And modern chemists quite objectively explain the reason for the "universality" of medicines from elderberry.
Black elderberry medicinal properties and contraindications syrup photo description flowers berries where the use of useful properties grows
Latin name Sambucus nigra L.
Honeysuckle family - Caprifoliaceae
Genus Sambucus L. - Elderberry
Popular names: bazovnik, baz, buzok, baz, boznyak, buz, boz-tree, pshtsalnik, wasteland, wasteland, wild bird cherry.
There are two hypotheses about the origin of the generic name. The first is that the Latin name Sambucus comes from the Greek word "sambuque" (red paint) and is associated with the use of red elder for painting canvas. The second hypothesis is related to the name of the Iraqi musical instrument, which is made from elderberry. And as a medicinal plant, it has been known since the time of Pliny the Elder, who recommended its flowers for colds.
In addition, there is a legend about the appearance of elder among the people. While hunting, the prince fell behind his retinue and got lost. Finally he came to a hut in a clearing. An old man sat at the entrance and wept. He told the prince that his father had beaten him because he carelessly carried grandfather from the bench to the bed and dropped him. The prince went into the hut and saw two even more ancient old men. He became interested in the secret of such longevity. The old people told him that they ate cheese, bread, milk and berries that grow nearby on the edge of the forest. It was the black elderberry.
Description
black elderberry Sambucus nigra L.- shrub or small tree with spreading branches of the honeysuckle family, 2-6 m high, sometimes up to 10 m, with ash-gray bark.
Elder black. Teberdinsky Reserve. On the edges, clearings, in mixed forests of the lower forest belt, 1300-1600 m above sea level. Absently
Young stems green, after overwintering they become brownish-gray, with numerous yellowish lenticels. The core of the stems is white, soft.
Leaves with an unpleasant odor, large, opposite, compound, 20-30 cm long, without stipules, pinnate, with 5-7 ovate, serrated leaflets, pointed at the edges. Leaflets on short petioles, oblong-ovate, long-pointed, with a broadly wedge-shaped base, unequally serrate along the edge, dark green, lighter below; have an unpleasant odour.
flowers small, yellowish-white, sessile or pedunculated, fragrant, in large, many-flowered, flat, corymbose-paniculate inflorescences up to 20 cm in diameter. The calyx is five-toothed, the corolla is wheel-shaped, with five creamy-white petals fused at the base. Stamens 5 adhering to the corolla tube; anthers are yellow. Ovary semi-inferior, three-celled.
Fetus- juicy, shiny, black-violet, berry-like drupe up to 6 mm long, with two to four oblong flat stones. The fruits are slimy, sour-sweet, edible berries.
Elderberry blooms in May - July; the fruits ripen in August - September and remain hanging on the bush after the leaves have fallen.
Spreading
black elderberry. In the former USSR, the eastern border of the range runs from the Gulf of Finland through the Baltic republics, Belarus, the central black earth regions of Russia and Ukraine to the lower Don; in the Caucasus, elderberry is found in all wooded mountainous regions of Ciscaucasia, western and eastern Transcaucasia.
cultivation
You can plant an elder bush not only in the sun, but also in partial shade, the plant is shade-tolerant. It prefers fertile, organic-rich soils, but will thrive in poor soils as well. The main thing is that groundwater is not too close and in the spring after the snow melts, the bush does not turn out to be “floating” in the water.
Agricultural technology
The plants do not require any special care. The only necessary condition for abundant flowering is the annual rather painstaking spring pruning. The shoots of the previous year are shortened by half. In this case, flowering will be very plentiful, and the inflorescences will be large.
On the edges, clearings, in mixed forests of the lower forest belt, 1300-1600 m above sea level. Absently reproduction
Propagated by sowing seeds in autumn or spring (after four months of stratification); can also be propagated by layering and cuttings. Elderberry can be propagated by seeds, which are either sown in autumn or stratified for 4 months before spring sowing. If there are adult plants, then you can get planting material with green cuttings, which are cut in June and rooted in the sand under the film, or layering.
Varieties
Elder racemosa - S. racemosa L. Shrub or small tree; leaves are compound with ovate or lanceolate leaflets without stipules. Inflorescence-ovoid dense panicle; flowers greenish or yellowish white, anthers purple. The fruits are red.
Elder grass - S. ebulus L. Perennial herbaceous plant 0.5-2 m high. The leaves are compound, with lanceolate leaves and large leaf-shaped lanceolate stipules. The inflorescence is an umbellate large panicle with three main axes. The flowers are white, pinkish outside. The fruits are black, shiny, with red juice.
Chemical composition
Active ingredients
The fruits contain glycosides, vitamins C and E, essential oils, sugars (5-6%), carotene, anthocyanins, tannins, carboxylic acids and amino acids. The essential oil contains terpenes and palmitic acid.
The seeds also contain oil.
In the bark of elder - essential solid oil, sambunigrin and coniin, choline, cystosterol, valeric acid, tannins.
Application
Elder wood is very light, used for small crafts; white wide core - with anatomical sections; berries are used to color grape wine and give it a nutmeg taste; a decoction of the fruit is used to dye silk fabrics in olive color.
food application
Used in the food industry. Elderberry water is prepared from elderberry flowers for flavoring alcoholic beverages. The coloring matter of the fruit is used to tint creams, sweets, wines and give them a nutmeg taste.
The fruits are black-violet, juicy, small, sweet and sour in large clusters, consumed fresh and processed. They are dried, and mixed with rosemary they replace imported peppers, they are also used to flavor tomato juice. They prepare jam, marmalade, mousses, fillings for confectionery, jam, jelly, wine, vinegar. Used as a seasoning for soups, flavoring homemade sausages, used for pickling tomatoes, cucumbers. Fragrant and tasty jam is cooked from flower petals. The quality of homemade bread and cookies is improved by adding black elderberry flowers to the dough, they acquire an almond flavor. Jam and jelly are made from elderberry berries. Young leaves are used for salads. From fresh flowers with the addition of lemon juice, zest and water, you can make a delicious, refreshing drink by fermentation.
A mixture of one part elderflower and three parts Georgian low grade tea gives the drink a bouquet characteristic of the best teas.
With tormenting thirst Italian herbal medicine recommends throwing a handful of unripe black elderberries into 1 liter of boiling water, boil for 5 minutes, add a little sugar and drink warm.
Use in landscape design
Decorative shrub. You can place black elderberry near the fence, in the composition of shrub plants or simply as a separate plant against the background of the lawn.
natural cosmetics
Black elderberries are used to prevent aging. According to a number of herbalists, daily consumption of black elderberries prolongs life and youth. For this, 2 tbsp. tablespoons of dry berries pour 1 liter of water, add 5 tbsp. spoons of honey, boil for 6 minutes, filter and drink the broth hot as tea several times a day.
medicinal use
Various parts of black elderberry are used as a diaphoretic, diuretic, astringent, mild laxative, anti-inflammatory, and mildly disinfectant. It has a weak choleretic and antipyretic effect, reduces spasm of the smooth muscles of the internal organs. The anti-inflammatory properties of galenic preparations of plant flowers are due to the total effect of fatty oil, which weakens the initial phase of inflammation, and rutin, which has an anti-inflammatory effect in the exudation phase, and also reduces the effects of sensitization of the body and reduces the efficiency of the vascular walls.
The diaphoretic effect of elderberry preparations, apparently, is carried out by increasing the sensitivity of the centers that regulate sweating, and not by direct action on the sweat glands of the skin. A slight laxative effect after the use of large doses and a mild peculiar analgesic effect, which consists in weakening the pain reaction of central origin, were noted.
Collection and processing of medicinal raw materials
Medicinal raw materials are flowers, bark and berries, sometimes bark. In medicine, the flowers of black elderberry are used. It is not allowed to harvest other types of elderberry - elderberry (S. racemosa L.) and elderberry (S. ebulus L.), sometimes growing together with S. nigra.
The flowers are harvested during flowering, before the corollas begin to shed, which most often happens in June - July. Berries are harvested in autumn, bark in summer. The flowers are cut with a knife or secateurs, loosely placed in baskets and quickly dried in the attic or under a canopy, laid out in a single layer on paper or cloth. Raw materials need to be dried quickly, as they easily warm up and darken. The end of drying is determined by the fragility of the branches of inflorescences. Dried inflorescences are threshed and the flowers are separated from other parts of the elderberry. Store in tightly closed glass jars or tin boxes for 3 years. When harvesting, it is forbidden to break branches, as this reduces the productivity of elderberry thickets.
Berries are harvested at full maturity. Clusters are plucked or cut with secateurs and placed in baskets. Raw materials are dried in the open air and dried in dryers at temperatures up to 60°C. Store in bags in a ventilated area. So that they do not mold, they are periodically dried.
Application in official and traditional medicine
Black elderberry occupies a very honorable place in the pharmacopoeias of many countries of the world. Different parts of the plant are used: flowers, fruits, bark, roots, but for various diseases, flowers are most often used. The flowers are credited with diaphoretic and diuretic, anti-febrile and anti-inflammatory effects. Their use is approved by scientific medicine. In medical practice, an infusion of elder flowers has a beneficial effect in chronic inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, accompanied by a dry cough, and colds with fever. It is used as an additional remedy in the complex treatment of rheumatism, tonsillitis, influenza, gout and arthritis.
An infusion of elder fruits and bark is recommended for kidney diseases accompanied by edema. With chronic constipation, jelly is boiled from spring leaves and autumn berries, adding honey to them. Leaves are used for burns, boils, diaper rash, inflammation of hemorrhoids. To do this, they are steamed, straightened, slightly dried with a napkin and applied to the inflamed area.
With inflammation of the joints of various origins, neuralgia and inflammation of the muscles, they take a mixture of elder flowers and chamomile equally, pour boiling water over it and make poultices.
An infusion of flowers is used for colds and flu as an antipyretic and anti-inflammatory agent, rinse the mouth and throat with stomatitis and tonsillitis, make lotions for burns and boils. Poultice of elderberry flowers helps with hemorrhoids. Flowers are included in the fees for chronic pancreatitis.
An infusion of flowers is sometimes used for diseases of the liver, kidneys, accompanied by edema, as a choleretic. In folk medicine, flower decoctions are used for kidney diseases, rheumatism, gout, and inflammation of the joints of other origins. To do this, in the area of \u200b\u200bthe diseased joint, poultices are made from steamed flowers of elderberry and chamomile (taken equally); such applications help with neuralgia, myositis (collection in a gauze bag is poured over with boiling water and applied to a sore spot).
The Austrian herbalist Maria Treben includes black elderberry flowers in herbs for leukemia. A similar but simpler recipe is offered by the Bulgarian herbalist Dimkov: mix 6 parts of fresh elderberries with 2 parts of honey, 1 part of eggshells and 1 part of nettle leaf powder. Take 1 teaspoon without a slide after lunch and dinner.
With mastitis, you can mix equally the flowers of elderberry, St. John's wort and calendula. Bring a tablespoon of the mixture to a boil. The decoction should be drunk in sips throughout the day.
From elderberry, together with St. John's wort and a currant leaf, an infusion is prepared, which is used for rinsing the mouth with periodontal disease.
The bark acts as a diuretic. Berries are known as a diaphoretic and laxative.
Compresses from the infusion of flowers are used for sunstroke.
Young elderberry leaves boiled in milk are used externally as an anti-inflammatory agent for burns, diaper rash, boils, inflammation of hemorrhoids, and a decoction with honey is used as a laxative for chronic constipation. In some parts of the country, decoctions from the roots are used for diabetes, from the bark - for diseases of the kidneys and bladder, as an emetic. In homeopathy, it is used for bronchial asthma, respiratory diseases, coronary heart disease.
Fresh berries are prescribed for rheumatism and neuralgia. Kissel from dried berries is a mild laxative. Jam and jelly is a good dietary remedy for stomach and intestinal diseases. Popular belief claims that the constant use of berries increases life expectancy. Young peeled shoots are eaten boiled or pickled.
Elderberry is a common plant that is widely used in medicine and pharmaceuticals. However, not everyone knows that not only elderberry, but also its color has healing properties, especially for black elderberry flowers. This article is about the beneficial properties and contraindications of elderberry color.
Composition of elderberry flowers
The inflorescences of this plant have a complex chemical composition. Elderberry flowers are rich in minerals and various beneficial substances. These include:
- Essential oils
- Glycosides
- Carotene
- Malic, caffeic, ascorbic and valeric acids
- resins
- Lentozans
- Tannins
- organic acids
- Isoalomine
Useful properties of elderberry color
The healing qualities of elderberry have been known since ancient times and have been used to treat various diseases since the time of Hippocrates. For example, it was believed that inhaling the aroma of the flowers of this plant relieves headaches and relieves depression. A decoction of them was recommended to young mothers to increase breast milk.
Elderberry flowers are endowed with a number of healing properties, which are due to their widespread use in the field of medicine.
So, for this inflorescence the following pronounced actions are characteristic:
- Anti-inflammatory
- Antipyretic
- diaphoretic
- Diuretic
- expectorant
- Antibacterial
Also, elderberry flowers can give a slight laxative and analgesic effect. In addition, flowers are used to boost immunity, strengthen capillary walls, dilate blood vessels, increase the overall resistance of the body, and also to fight various tumor formations. With the help of this tool, you can improve the composition of the blood, and increase the content of hemoglobin in it.
The color of elderberry has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the digestive system, greatly improving the production of bile and gastric juice.
Elder also helps to normalize the metabolism in the body, as well as cleanse it of toxins and toxins.
Contraindications to the use of elderberry color
Despite the positive qualities and beneficial properties that elder flowers have, in some cases their use is highly discouraged. The use of elderberry and its inflorescences is contraindicated in the following cases;
- With colitis
- With diabetes insipidus.
- For chronic intestinal inflammation
- In chronic diseases of the stomach and digestive system.
- For Crohn's disease
- With a tendency to allergic reactions
- The presence of ulcerative lesions also serves as a contraindication for the use of elderberry.
In some patients, cases of individual tolerance of certain substances that make up this plant have been recorded. It should be emphasized that excessive and prolonged use of elderberry flowers can lead to unwanted side effects such as nausea, vomiting, indigestion and diarrhea.
Indications for use
Elderberry inflorescences have been used in medicine for many centuries, proving their high efficiency in the treatment of a number of diseases of a different nature.
Hippocrates also advised the use of these yellow flowers in cases of "stabbing" in the chest, rheumatism and joint pain.
Modern medicine also recognizes the numerous medicinal properties of the presented plant. Treatment with elderberry flowers is recommended in the following cases:
- Colds, pneumonia, bronchitis. This remedy helps relieve headaches, eliminate fever, alleviate coughs and relieve inflammation of the mucous membranes. In addition, elderberry inflorescences have a strong expectorant effect.
- An infusion of dried flowers is recommended for the acute stage of eczema.
- Edema of a different nature is eliminated due to the diuretic properties of this plant.
- Haemorrhoids.
- Inflammation of the genitourinary system.
- Elderberry flowers can have a sedative and sedative effect. For this reason, drugs based on them are widely used for insomnia, neurosis and neuralgia.
- Atherosclerosis.
- Various inflammatory processes in the body.
- anemia
- External use of elderflower-based products is recommended for the treatment of various skin diseases (furunculosis, psoriasis and others), burns, rashes, ulcerative lesions.
- This tool helps to alleviate the manifestations of menopause in women.
- Mastopathy
- Cataract
- Rheumatism
- pancreatitis
- Elderberry is also shown as an adjuvant in the treatment of oncological diseases.
- Metabolic disorders
- General weakening and exhaustion of the body.
- uterine fibroids
- endometriosis
Elderberry color in folk medicine
Traditional medicine actively uses elderberry inflorescences for the treatment and prevention of various diseases. We bring to your attention the most popular and time-tested recipes.
1. Decoction for the treatment of bronchitis. To prepare it, pour two tablespoons of dried flowers with a liter of water, bring to a boil and boil for five minutes. The decoction should be taken in half a glass four times a day.
2. An anti-edema agent is prepared as follows. A tablespoon of inflorescences is poured with a glass of water and boiled for seven minutes. The decoction should be taken one tablespoon three times a day.
3. In case of rheumatism, neuralgia, muscle or joint inflammation, special poultices will help. To prepare them, stir in an equal amount of elderberry flowers and chamomile, pour boiling water and let it brew for about five minutes. In the resulting infusion, moisten a piece of cloth and apply to the sore spot. Keep the lotion until it cools completely.
4. Tea from elderberry inflorescences is considered a universal remedy that can help in the fight against many diseases, strengthen the body and increase immunity. To prepare this vitamin drink, pour two teaspoons of dried flowers with a glass of boiling water and leave for half an hour. After this time, it remains only to strain the broth and the tea will be ready!
6. Remedy for hemorrhoids. Mix six tablespoons of elderberry color with a spoonful of medicinal sage, pour a glass of boiling water over the mixture. After a day, strain the infusion and add a teaspoon of honey. It is recommended to use twice a day for half a glass at a time. The course of treatment is three weeks.
7. For skin diseases and burns, lotions based on elderberry flowers help well. To prepare an effective medicine, pour three tablespoons of inflorescences with a glass of milk and boil for several minutes. Soak a piece of gauze in the resulting liquid and apply it to the damaged area of \u200b\u200bthe skin.
8. An infusion prepared from twenty grams of elder flowers and a liter of boiling water is indicated for the treatment of dry, cough, arthritis and rheumatism.
9. In case of rheumatic pains, such a remedy will help. Mix chamomile and elder flowers in equal proportions, wrap in a cloth bag, pour boiling water on top and apply to the sore spot. Such a bag will help relieve toothache and ear pain.
The color of elderberry has numerous healing properties and can be used to treat and prevent various diseases. However, before taking this remedy, you should familiarize yourself with its contraindications. Indeed, in some cases, the use of elderberry inflorescences can cause serious damage to health.
